← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.6 kg)
• 1 tbsp coarse salt, for rubbing
• 5 cm piece Ginger, sliced and bruised
• 4 Spring onion, folded in half
• 4 cloves Garlic, smashed
• water, enough to cover the chicken
• 1 tbsp sesame oil, for the skin
• 500 g Jasmine rice, rinsed and well drained
• 3 tbsp chicken fat (from the cavity) or vegetable oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cm piece Ginger, finely chopped
• 2 Pandan leaves, tied in a knot
• 750 ml chicken poaching stock (from above)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 6 Red chilli, roughly chopped
• 3 Bird's eye chilli
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 3 cm piece Ginger, sliced
• 3 tbsp lime or calamansi juice
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Salt
• 5 cm piece Ginger, finely grated
• ½ tsp Salt
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, smoking hot
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, for dipping (optional)
• 1 Cucumber, sliced
• 1 handful coriander sprigs

Method

1. Pull any loose fat from the chicken cavity and keep it for the rice. Rub the bird all over with the coarse salt, rinse it, and stuff the cavity with the ginger, spring onions and smashed garlic.
2. Bring a large pot of water (enough to cover the chicken) to the boil. Lower the chicken in breast-side down, let the water return to a simmer, then turn the heat to the lowest setting so it barely trembles. Poach for 35–40 min, until the thickest part of the thigh reads 75°C (165°F).
3. Lift the chicken into a big bowl of iced water for 10 min; this gives the skin its springy, jelly-like texture. Drain, pat dry and rub with sesame oil. Keep the poaching stock hot.
4. For the rice, melt the chicken fat (or heat the oil) in a pot over medium heat for 5 min, then fry the garlic and ginger for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the drained rice and stir for 2 min until every grain is glossy.
5. Tip the rice into a rice cooker with the 750 ml stock, pandan and salt and switch on. In a pot, bring it to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 min, then rest it covered for 10 min.
6. Blend all the chilli sauce ingredients with 3 tbsp of hot stock until smooth. For the ginger sauce, mix the grated ginger with the salt in a heatproof bowl and pour the smoking oil over it so it sizzles.
7. Chop the chicken into pieces, arrange on a plate and spoon over the soy sauce mixed with the sesame oil and 2 tbsp stock. Serve with mounds of rice, cucumber, coriander, both sauces, dark soy if you like, and small bowls of the hot stock.

Tips

• If the thigh is still pink at the bone after carving, put that piece back in the hot stock for a few minutes; the chicken must reach 75°C (165°F).
• Leftover stock makes a beautiful soup. Cool any leftover rice quickly and refrigerate it within an hour.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Tara's Multicultural Table (from The Malaysian Kitchen) Sift & Simmer Malaysian Chinese Kitchen